Getting to Know You
by Wateranddarkness666
Summary: She's always been mean to him, but for a different reason than everyone else. He doesn't know what though. He doesn't know she really loves him, just doesn't know how to show it. What'll happen? Naruto x OC bad summary, sorry
1. Chapter 1

**WD**: Well, this is the beginnig of story number three! I had the idea last night and I couldn't help myself. It's one of those stories that are really good and you just have to write. (I don't write all of my stories down). Don't worry, I haven't abandoned my other stories. I'm just really busy, but fear not!! I only have one week of exams left! :D After that I can concentrate on writing. So don't worry. I'll be much better with my updating, hopefully. Oh, and don't worry about this being a short first chapter. They'll get longer. :) Thanks for being patient!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto characters or themes: they belong to Masashi Kishimoto. I own all original characters and themes.

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**_Chapter 1_**

"Watch where you're going Uzumaki." Naruto looked up at the girl he had bumped into. His face had already turned into a scowl when he had heard her voice. He looked up into the ice blue eyes of Kari Takayaki, the only girl he would ever consider a rival.

"You're the one who got in the way Takayaki!" Naruto retorted, standing up. The girl scoffed.

"I would ask if you were blind, but your clothes are a clear indication that you **are**," she sneered. Naruto looked down at his orange jumpsuit. He wondered why everyone made fun of it. '_Seriously, it's not **that** bad_,' he thought. He looked back at the girl, probably the only person his age that wasn't taller than him, and glared.

"It's better than what you wear," he replied acidly.

"Cheh, as if I care what I wear," the girl replied, sounding rather bored with the whole conversation.

"Then why the hell did you point out **my** clothes?" he asked, now even more frustrated with the girl.

"I never said they were ugly, I just said you must be blind to wear that colour," she pointed out bluntly. Naruto flushed. Technically speaking, she was right. He noticed that their arguments usually ended up like that. She'd start something; he'd backtalk her; she'd make a rude or nasty comment; he'd misinterpret it and say something; she'd get bored and say something again; he'd get confused; and she'd say something that made him feel stupid. Naruto **knew** the girl did it on purpose, just to see him feel like an idiot.

"Naruto, Kari, sit down," Iruka said, walking into class. The two scowled at one another and quickly left to find their seats: on opposite sides of the classroom.

Kari stared at Naruto as class went on. She never really paid attention, seeing as she knew all the stuff Iruka was blabbing about. She had been in this class **four times** now. Shaking that thought away, she continued to look at Naruto. Kari was an odd person; even she knew that. Her appearance was normal enough: black hair that was constantly tied up, and ice blue eyes. Her personality was another matter. Kari was known to be extremely rude, to the point that she could be extremely mean. She couldn't really help it; she had grown up without any love at all. Any emotion she felt usually turned into anger or frustration, and she wasn't afraid to speak her mind either. Being rude and, at times, mean, Kari didn't exactly have any friends. In fact, no one really wanted to be around her at all. The only person, who wasted their breath and time to be around her, was Naruto, and even then, the two of them were always fighting. They had never gotten along once, however there was, in Kari's opinion, quite a few good reasons for that. The first being Naruto was open to his thoughts as well, so the two of them would be rude to each other **a lot**. The second being the two were seemingly complete opposites, so naturally they wouldn't get along. The third being a reason Kari hated. She didn't really understand it at all, or know how to express it. Kari stared at the back of Naruto's blond head. She knew what the emotion was all right, but that didn't mean she knew how to act. She glanced at Sasuke Uchiha's fangirls and grimaced. No way in hell did she want to act like one of them. She sighed and her eyes drifted lazily back to Naruto. Her emotions, usually coming out as anger or frustration probably weren't the best, but she didn't know any other way. She sighed again. For the third reason for which Kari Takayaki and Naruto Uzumaki constantly fought, although unbeknownst to Naruto, was the fact that Kari was utterly, truly, head over heels in love with Naruto.

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**WD**: I hope you like the first part! You'll find out more about the character later, I just thought it would be a suitable introduction of her (you'll get to know her better later on). Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy it!


	2. Chapter 2

**WD**: Hello! I got another chapter of this story done today. Man, does my hand hurt. XD I wrote it all down on paper first, cause I couldn't get hold of a computer!

I hope this story didn't seem like a one-shot, cause I'm gonna have to disapoint you. It's not. It was too short and it definately wasn't develloped enough! Sorry for the confusion.

Many thanks to the 2 people who reviewed! It's much appreciated. :) I like getting feedback. It makes me write faster! (sometimes. I don't always get the time. School takes up so much! T.T Glad exams are over in a week.) I hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimers**: Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto characters and themes. I own original characters and themes.

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**_Chapter 2_**

Lunchtime. Lunchtime was a dangerous part of the day for the academy students. The reason every regular student proceeded to eat lunch in caution was the fact that every lunch hour brought a fight. The fighters tended to be the same people. Occasionally it would be Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha; everyone knew of their rivalry. Sometimes it would be Sasuke Uchiha's fangirls, especially the two biggest love rivals, Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka. More often than not it was a fight between cats and dogs, otherwise known as Kyo Nekozawa and Kiba Inuzuka. However, the majority of all the fights were done by the same two people: Naruto Uzumaki and Kari Takayaki.

A loud crash was heard, followed swiftly by a stream of yelling.

"A bit early for them to be going at it, isn't it?" one student asked, obviously a bit worried.

"They'd already gotten off to a bad start this morning," another replied with a shrug.

"Better sooner than later. At least now we can sit somewhere they aren't fighting," a girl stated, walking in an opposite direction with her friends. There was a murmur of agreements before the other academy students began to walk away from the yelling.

Meanwhile, Kari wore a smug look and Naruto just looked pissed.

"What was **that**? Were you aiming for me, or that tree over there? Either way, your aim sucks," she stated calmly, even though she was enjoying herself. The same couldn't be said for Naruto.

"I'm going to make you regret everything you've ever said to me!" he snarled after growling angrily. Kari shrugged.

"You keep telling me that, yet I haven't regretted anything yet," she stated, a silent smirk slowly appearing. "You shouldn't say anything you can't live up to."

"Shut up! Today's the day you are going down!"

"Why is it that I hear that every day, but I haven't been beaten by you yet?" she asked, a trace of laughter edging her words. Naruto growled and charged at her. Kari moved out of the way at the last second. Naruto spun around to face the girl who was still standing in a relaxed stance. Naruto ground his teeth and leapt for her, his fist ready to pound her annoyingly calm face in. Kari was ready for him. Even if she looked bored, it thrilled her to fight him. She grabbed his fist and threw a punch with her free hand. He blocked it. The two of them leapt away from each other. Naruto quickly attacked again.

'_I can't let her have time to create a genjutsu. I just gotta keep going at her until I break through her defences_,' Naruto thought. The first few times they had fought, Naruto had charged in without thinking and got caught in the girl's genjutsus. Not wantingthat to keep happening, Naruto actually began thinking things through when he battled her.

Naruto kept up his relentless attacks and Kari kept defending. They never really **fought** with sharp objects. It was a silent mutual agreement between them. So, they fought with taijutsu and any tricks that wouldn't seriously harm one another.

As they continued fighting, Naruto was pushing Kari back towards the academy. If he could pin her against the wall, he'd finally win. He unconsciously grinned. They were about 10 metres away from the academy wall. Naruto could tell the girl was getting tired. She hadn't been able to put a genjutsu on him and her taijutsu wasn't spectacular. Naruto went to punch her in the face, but feigned at the last second and, taking her by surprise, punched her in the gut. Hard. She went flying back and hit the academy wall with force. Enough force to crack the wall. Naruto quickly pinned her to the wall. She struggled, but he held her there tightly.

"I win!" he exclaimed, grinning wildly. Kari looked up at him, a grin spreading across her face. Naruto was confused at first, but froze when he felt cold metal on the back of his neck.

"No. I win." Naruto didn't understand.

'_How is this possible? I didn't see her make a clone_,' he thought. Suddenly, the grinning Kari he was holding against the academy wall, faded. '_Genjutsu_?!'

"How the hell did you do that?" he asked, fairly upset, but honestly impressed. He felt the metal leave his neck and he stood up, turning around. The girl was standing there as if she hadn't even broken a sweat.

"I do, despite what you may think, take our fights seriously. When you challenged me, I quickly created a genjutsu, not willing to take any chances," she explained.

"You didn't make any hand signs," Naruto pointed out. Kari rolled her eyes.

"I don't need to. All I need to do is make any sort of movement like, say, shrugging my shoulders," she told him, a smirk, once again, making it's way onto her face. Naruto thought back to the beginning of the fight when he had told her she'd regret the things she'd said to him. She had shrugged her shoulders back then. Naruto had to admit; he was a little impressed and a little shocked too.

"You take our fights **that** seriously?" he asked. He knew that he took every fight seriously, but the same couldn't be said for anyone who fought him.

"Well duh. It's stupid for a shinobi to take any fight, even a minor one, lightly," she stated, staring at him with an eyebrow raised.

"Are you saying I'm stupid?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Did I say that? No, I didn't. I only wondered if the people who fight you take the situation lightly, as it's obvious **you** don't," she replied, sounding mildly annoyed. Naruto flushed for the second time that day and was about to backtalk her, when Iruka came storming out of the school towards them.

"What do you think you two were doing?" he yelled.

"Fighting, obviously," Kari replied. A vein in Iruka's head throbbed dangerously.

"What have I told you about fighting during school hours?" he asked, trying to remain calm.

"Not to do it," Naruto replied dejectedly.

"Exactly. Now-"

"What about after school?" Kari interrupted. Iruka shot her a menacing look. "Just a question," she muttered, shrugging.

"As I was about to say, what happened exactly?"

"He started it," Kari said, not hiding the fact she was bored already.

"She provoked me!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Big vocabulary word there. I didn't know you had it in you," Kari stated, hiding her smirk. Naruto rounded on her, ready to fight again.

"You-"

"Enough! Both of you!" Naruto reluctantly dropped his fists and turned back to his teacher. Kari just shrugged.

"The two of you, as punishment for fighting and causing damage to the school, will clean the whole school, top to bottom. Do I make myself clear?" Naruto began to protest loudly, while Kari just glared.

"Do I make myself clear?" Iruka asked again, only in a much more intimidating voice. Naruto nodded, but continued to grumble under his breath about a "stupid sensei". Kari rolled her eyes, clearly not intimidated.

'_Seriously, I get worse at home_,' she thought.

"Whatever," she stated, heading back towards the entrance to the school.

* * *

Naruto and Kari were on their knees, cleaning the floor of a classroom on the ground floor. They agreed to work from the top down, so they wouldn't have to walk far after they were done. When they had started, no words were said. In fact, they had been there several hours and **still** nothing was said. Naruto finally broke the silence by asking a question.

"Hey Takayaki?" he asked. Kari stopped scrubbing and looked up.

"Yeah, what?" she answered.

"Why do you hate me? Most people do, but none of them will talk to me, never mind answering my questions," he asked, then explained. Kari sighed.

"Have I ever actually said I hated you? No, I haven't. You'd realize that too if you thought about it a little," she replied.

"No one actually **says** anything, I can just tell," he explained.

"Well you should know by now that I'm very clear about what I think. Besides, I don't talk to people I hate," she explained.

"But you're always mean to me!" he protested. Kari rolled her eyes.

"Haven't you noticed I'm mean to everyone? It's who I am," she replied, a little annoyed with the question.

"There must be **someone** you're nice to," he stated.

"Nope." They rested in silence for a while.

"Why?" Naruto asked, breaking the silence again.

"Why what? Be more specific," she stated plainly.

"Why are you men to everyone?" Kari paused.

"I guess...I don't know how to act any other way," she stated.

"How come?"

"You grew up without any parents, but you had Iruka show you kindness, therefore you can be nice to others too, even though others are cruel to you all the time, right?"

"Yeah, I guess, but what does that have to do with what we're talking about?" he asked, genuinely confused.

"I've never had anyone show me kindness ever, so I guess it reflects in my attitude."

"What about your parents? Family?" he asked, not willing to believe the girl in front of him never had someone be kind to her.

"Par**ent**," she corrected. "And no. My whole clan are a bunch of bastards and my father is the biggest bastard of them all," she explained without any remorse for her words. Silence enveloped them once again.

"Well that sucks," Naruto stated bluntly. For the first time in the history of her life, Kari laughed.

"Putting it plainly, yeah, it does," she replied, still laughing. Naruto grinned.

"I guess you aren't so bad, once you get past the whole ice-bitch thing," he stated. Still grinning, Kari scoffed.

"Tell me you aren't going to start being nice to me. I enjoy fighting with you," Kari stated. Naruto gave her a surprised look.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Besides the fact I don't know how to act any other way, I enjoy provoking a reaction out of you. It amuses me greatly," Kari replied with a slightly amused expression. Naruto opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water, before deciding what he was going to say. He smirked playfully.

"Good, 'cause I like fighting you too. You're the only person who takes me seriously," he stated.

"Ah, so we have an accord. Good. We keep being rivals and fighting every day, even if we do get detention," she stated, nodding her head approvingly. Naruto nodded.

"You know, I think the mops were 'lost' on purpose," he stated. Kari rolled her eyes before they rested on the brush in her hand.

"Stupid sensei," they both stated at the same time. They glanced at each other before breaking out into laughter again.

"I have an idea!" Naruto exclaimed.

"At this rate, we'll never finish," stated Kari. Naruto rolled his eyes.

"One last thing, ok?"

"Hm, fine."

"We could be rivals **and** friends." Kari stopped completely. She looked up at him. He looked semi-hopeful, but a part of him looked like he knew she'd say no.

'_Probably 'cause he has no friends. Like me_,' she thought. At last, she sighed.

"Why not. It might be interesting," she answered. His face lit up at her answer. She couldn't help but smile. He stuck out his hand.

"Friends and rivals?" he asked. Kari stared at his hand. She chuckled. She'd laughed a lot during the day. More than her entire life.

"Yeah. Friends **and** rivals," she agreed, taking his hand tightly.

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**WD**: I hope you enjoyed the second chapter. It was a lot longer than the first, that's for sure. XD I hope you liked it. I certainly enjoyed writing it. :)


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